Ripple Effect
by NaotoH
Summary: When she decided to roam modern day Japan she had already started to believe that youkai no longer existed. Little did she know that it was that belief that stopped her from truly seeing what surrounded her. It wasn't until she met an unexpected someone from her past did her eyes open to the world she kept secret from herself. And then there was him. Tamazuki/Kagome
1. Letting Go to Hold on Tighter

Summary: When she decided to roam modern day Japan she had already started to believe that youkai no longer existed. Little did she know that it was that belief that stopped her from truly seeing what surrounded her. However, she was not ready to accept that youkai still existed, after all that meant that they had all abandoned her. It wasn't until she met an unexpected someone from her past did her eyes open to the world she kept secret from herself. And then there was _him._ A story of reunion, family, and a slow romance overcoming past scars and ghosts.

Setting: CU divergence for Inuyasha, set post-wish on the jewel but Kagome does not go back as in the epilogue. CU for Nurarihyon no Mago, pre-Hyaku Monogatari Arc.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Nurarihyon no Mago belong to their respective owners. Namely, not me.

_Our life in this world -  
to what shall I compare it?  
Its like an echo  
resounding through the mountains  
and off into the empty sky._

_-_Monk Ryokan; Translation by Steven D. Carter

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Chapter 1: Letting Go to Hold on Tighter

Kagome sighed as she fiddled with the strap of her traveling pack for the umpteenth time that day. The yellow monstrosity of her adventures in the past retired and lovingly stored away in the shrine store house. Newly graduated and still dressed in her high school uniform, she was one step away from starting her newest journey. She was not sure if her decision to roam Japan was a good idea, but with her family surrounding her in the mezzanine of the rail station she knew that there was no turning back. No time for regrets, no time for second guessing her choices. That was why she insisted on leaving straight from school after her graduation, she had this gut feeling that if she went home she would never leave. That her past would consume her, drown her in the sadness and longing of far away memories.

The past three years had been torturous, the time she spent in the feudal era had spoiled her. Sitting at a school desk and going out to WacDonalds with her friends could not compare to traveling the countryside with her makeshift family. If someone had asked her three years ago if she would choose roughing it out in the wilderness to chatting with her friends in WacDonalds she would have scoffed and rolled her eyes. Yet here she was, stricken with a severe case of wanderlust. She could not explain why, but perhaps this was her way of reconciling her past with her present. Her way of letting go and moving on while still cherishing and holding those memories close to her heart.

She felt a pang and calling out from the direction of the shrine. Tendrils of ancient energy nipped and wrapped around her in a lover's embrace. Beckoning her to return to the well, to return to the past. However, she shook it off with a bitter smile, reminding herself that the well had sealed itself closed after she returned from the past with the jewel wished out of existence. With the jewel long gone, there was no reason or catalyst for the well to open again. She chalked the presence of the energy up to her desperation deluding her into thinking the well reopened and that she could go back. The energy pulsed for a final time before disappearing completely. With that thought, she steeled her resolve and accepted the wrapped longbow from her grandfather. A gift from him for her 18th birthday, and not one which she instantly fed to Buyo.

"Kagome, I have one more gift for you. It is one of the family treasures that has been passed on for generations." Her grandfather held out a thin silver chain on which hung the broken end of an arrow. "It is a part of an arrow made from the wood of a sacred tree. But that is not all, it is said that this arrow was shot by a miko of a most kind and accepting heart. It was the arrow that helped fell a great and terrible demon that threatened the whole world! I am entrusting this to you because I know you will keep it safe and it will help protect you in your time of greatest need."

"Arigatou Jii-chan," She accepted the gift, reverently stroking the fletching. She did not feel any ancient or holy energy emanating from the arrow, in fact she did not feel any energy at all. It was strange, everything held the residual energy of the living entity from which it was made and any stray slivers of energy from those who had come into contact with it. Pausing for a moment, her brows furrowed and she realized that she could not feel any energy radiating off of anything. _Why?..._ She shook her straying thoughts away. No matter if the story behind the arrow was true or not, the thoughts and wishes that came along with it were enough for her. She would ponder on the lack of energy in everything around her later.

She briefly embraced her grandfather, "Jii-chan, try not to exorcise every single person who enters the shrine. I'm not sure the patrons fully appreciate your efforts."

"Kagome! I would never! It's only those suspicious youkai friends of yours. Trying to corrupt my precious granddaughter!" Her grandfather's face was set into a stern frown as he started mumbling under his breath about her choice in company, and how they were still taking his granddaughter away from him.

Kagome fought the urge to roll her eyes and sigh at her grandfather's newest tirade. She pulled her younger brother into her arms as she ruffled his hair,  
"Souta, I'm sorry for not being much of an elder sister these past few years. I thought that I could stay and catch up and make up for those lost years, but I have to do this, for myself and for you guys too. Even though I have been back for three years, I haven't been much of a sister to you have I? With my mind and heart in another place, another time. I hope one day you'll forgive me for selfishly leaving all of you behind." She stopped ruffling his hair as she rested her chin atop the crown of his head and let out a shaky breath.

"Nee-chan..." Souta's voice was muffled into the crook of her neck. He pulled away and put on his best smile, he had to be strong for his big sister. After all how many times had she done the same for them whenever she came back from the past? Putting on the bright smile in order to ease their worries. "You better come back with some awesome stories to tell me!"

Kagome's eyes started to water at the hidden plea, '_you better come back.' _How many times had she worried her family in the past? How many times did they stay up late at night wondering if she would come back in one piece if at all?

Her mother noticed the welling up of tears in her eyes and gently pried her away from Souta, pulling Kagome into the comfort of her arms.  
"It's okay to cry Kagome. We don't fault you for it. You did the best you could given the circumstances. We're proud of you. What other family can secretly take pride in the fact that their daughter helped save the world?"

"Mama...Mama!" She cried as she clutched desperately at her mother's figure. "Mama, I tried so hard. I did, but I can't forget them. I can't forget the feeling of traveling across Japan, of being surrounded by my closest friends, of battling against those who threatened that which we vowed to protect, of being among people who accepted me as I am, who believed in me. I don't know if youkai still exist, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to accept it if they still do... but at least I'm taking one step forward, right?" The fingers that gently ran through her hair helped to even out her choked up breathing, and slowed the tears that ran down her cheeks. She drew back, her eyes searching for approval from the one person whose opinion mattered the most. Her eyelids fluttered as a thumb gently drew across her cheek, wiping away her tears.

"Kagome, dear," Her mother murmured, taking in the sight of her daughter's face. How she had matured these past 3 years. From the innocent 15 year old girl, to the 18 year old woman standing before her. "No one ever told you to forget them, but you must not forget those who stand around you in this time. You know that I will support you no matter what you choose to do. I may worry, but I know you can take care of yourself, you've grown up so much. If you think that this journey will help you, then we won't stop you."

The breath that she did not know she was holding whooshed out of her. Slowly she stepped out of her mother's arms and turned to look at her family. Gripping her backpack and longbow with renewed fervor, her sapphire eyes steeled with resolve,

"Ittekimasu, Mama, Jii-chan, Souta." With that she turned around and walked into the rail station. Her retreating figure sent off with a trio of,

"Itterasshai!"

Within those words was an unspoken promise, _'I will come back to you all.'_

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Sorry that no NuraMago characters showed up in this chapter. This chapter was more of an introduction to the background of Kagome's situation.

Please let me know what you think! Reviews are appreciated and treasured =D


	2. Shikoku The Road to Heartbreak?

It's really interesting to look at the traffic stats and see where your readers come from. So international OwO

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Nurarihyon no Mago belong to their respective owners. Namely, not me.

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Chapter 2: Shikoku; The Road to Heartbreak?

Her original plan had been to travel to southern most part of Japan to Kyushu or even the Ryukyu Islands and start her journey there, but when she bought her ticket she blurted out,

"One ticket to Takamatsu please." It was not until she had her ticket in hand did she realize her mistake. She had wanted a ticket to Hakata so that she could get a connecting train to Kagoshima, but it seemed her heart had more control over her body than her brain. To go to Takamatsu meant it was a given for her to travel around Shikoku. If there was any place in Japan that had the most region specific youkai folklore then it was Shikoku.

Kagome had already resigned herself to her notion of youkai non-existence in the modern era. She would not be able to handle it if they did exist, because that meant that everyone abandoned her. All the youkai she knew were not ones who would die so easily and surely would have survived until today if other youkai did. Even if almost all of the youkai had died out, her friends would have survived. They would not just roll over and die. They had all fought side by side against Naraku and defeated him. They all had the strength and will power to survive the most dire of situations. Her heart broke a little more at that thought, had they really abandoned her? She was only human, a miko yes, but only human. During the past 500 years did they start to think of her as just another human, someone not worth their time? She had thought that the bonds she made with them were stronger than that. That they could withstand the tests of time. Were the hearts of human and youkai really so fickle?

Tears blurred her vision before she quickly wiped them away. Going to Shikoku would not do, she went on this journey to heal her heart, not break it even more. It was unlikely but maybe...

"Please, is it possible that I can change this to a ticket to Hakata? I made a mistake, I didn't mean to say Takamatsu."

The man in the ticket booth softly shook his head,

"I am very sorry miss, but since that train will be leaving within the next hour I cannot make any changes. It will cost more but you could always buy a connecting ticket to Hakata when you are in Takamatsu."

Cost more... She had not brought a lot of money with her, spending more money on train tickets was not an option.

"Oh... okay. Thank you very much..." She fingered the ticket looking slightly forlorn. With a sniffle she walked away from the ticket booth and towards the train platform. Maybe she should trust her heart... It never failed her before, perhaps this mistake would turn out for the better.

Wiping the rest of her tears away with the sleeve of her uniform, she boarded the train. It looked like she was going to Shikoku...

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Woo! Another chapter done. Out of how many? I don't know yet xD

So Kagome still hasn't met Tamazuki yet... sorry about that. She won't officially meet him for quite a few chapters, but she will see him in the next chapter. *happy wiggly dance*

The part about the most region specific folklore about youkai being from Shikoku is from my own research and could possibly be wrong since there's not a lot of English information on many youkai free on the internet. I do plan on buying a couple English and Japanese youkai encyclopedias and books, but I can't yet due to money issues. The problems of being a broke Uni student after going on a big expensive vacation orz

Kagome will be bumping into many youkai in the next few chapters. I have some ideas for youkai I want her to meet but I'm looking for some suggestions from you guys. They cannot be from Inuyasha though since I have plans for those youkai 8'D

Suggestion Guidelines

These youkai will only be in the story for around a chapter unless they're a NuraMago character.

1. They have to be humanoid, or if not then they have to have the ability to hide themselves from human eyes.

2. They can be from NuraMago, but mind you if they have already died anywhere from the beginning of the story to the end of the Shikoku Arc I will not be reviving them. And not Rikuo either, I have plans for his introduction.

3. I am welcome to including people's OCs, just send me a PM and we can chat about how I can include them in a chapter.

4. They can be from another series as long as they follow guideline 1.

oh! I'm looking for a beta for this story. If anyone is interested in being my beta please PM me~

Any feedback would be appreciated~


	3. Night and Day Sesshoumaru

Sorry for the long author's note orz but the info is important!

This chapter is shorter than planned because the type of train Kagome is taking completely threw my plans out of whack.

I've got a request for Kurama from YuYu Hakusho, I had already planned to insert him for a chapter or two, I just have to figure out how, when, and why xD I'm still open to suggestions for cameo appearances for youkai from NuraMago or other series and even OCs, so if you have anyone specific you want to see let me know and I'll do my best to include them if I can.

Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, followed, or favorited this story.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Nurarihyon no Mago belong to their respective owners. Namely, not me.

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Chapter 3: Night and Day; Sesshoumaru

Kagome was walking down the aisle looking for her sleeping compartment when the air shifted and with a rustle of cloth someone walked past her. Their shoulders bumped, she could barely hear the low hiss of pain the person let out before she was subject to the heat of his molten gold glare. The scar running across his face only increasing the severity of his gaze. Before she could muster her own glare and chastise him for not asking for room to walk by, he turned to continue walking, snubbing and ignoring her existence. She huffed, her eyes lit with an inner fire that blazed at the insult he presented her before it fizzled out. She would have given him an earful if she wasn't mesmerized with the grace with which he walked, the smooth predatorial and regal grace accompanied by the fluttering of an empty sleeve sent a wave of nostalgia though her.

_Sesshoumaru..._

They had not been on the best of terms, but Kagome liked to think that he had started to accept her presence and acknowledged her worth even a little. He had saved her on multiple occasions, and she could not imagine him bothering if he did not have some sort of good regard of her. She was tempted to call out Sesshoumaru's name just to see if maybe, maybe he would respond and it would be him. But it was not him, the short black hair that framed this boy's face was a stark contrast from the daiyoukai's long silken silver. The empty sleeve was on the opposite side, and gone were the striking demonic markings that lined aristocratic cheeks. But his eyes, his eyes burned like twin suns. With such ambition, and a sharp glint that even Sesshoumaru on his world conquest did not have. His gait reminded her of the demonic grace with which Sesshoumaru walked. Silent, unyielding, predatorial, and confident. They held themselves with pride, as if everyone around them should feel fortunate to be in their presence. However, where Sesshoumaru had a proud and regal stance, this boy had an air of melancholy around him as if proud yet ashamed of himself at the same time. They were similar, yet so different like,

_Day and night..._

Sesshoumaru could have been likened to day whereas this boy to night. Sesshoumaru, even on their first encounter seemed to radiate with a brightness that could leave someone awestruck. This boy however seemed to be shrouded in darkness, as if it could swallow you whole, instilling fear within whoever encountered him.

It was strange, during the past three years, thinking about even Sesshoumaru sent waves of sadness throughout her. However now, seeing this boy, so similar yet so different from Sesshoumaru left her smiling at the good and bad memories of Inuyasha's elder half brother.

She would have kept staring, smiling widely, her eyes like the sparkling depths of the ocean, if it wasn't for the elderly man with the cane behind her who cleared his throat,

"Excuse me miss, but if you would let me pass? I need to catch up with my son before I lose sight of him."

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I did not mean to block the way like that." Kagome shifted to the side making room for the old man to walk past her, her gaze still fixed on the retreating back of the boy.

Inugami Gyoubu Danuki noticed her turned head, seemingly focused on his son,

"Thank you, and I am very sorry about his rudeness, something happened that left him in a sour mood. If you could forgive him for his transgression..."

"It's alright! I'm sure since he has such a kind and polite father like yourself that he's just acting out of character today!" She smiled brightly as she finally turned to look away from the boy and at the senior in front of her.

The elderly man gasped quietly as he caught a full view of her face, a soft barely heard utterance left his lips,

_"Kagome-sama?"_

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Hope you guys liked this chapter, and please let me know what you think~


	4. Of Strange Old Men

Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, followed, or favorited this story!

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Nurarihyon no Mago belong to their respective owners. Namely, not me.

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Chapter 4: Of Strange Old Men

Kagome's eyes widened,

"W-what? How do you-" Before Kagome could begin questioning the old man, she was interrupted by a train attendant,

"Excuse me sir, miss. We will be leaving soon, so if you would both please find your sleeping compartments, and deposit your belongings there. Then you can roam around on the train if you so wish."

"Y-yes, of course. We're sorry. I-I'll be on my way now. It was nice see- meeting you Ka- young miss. If you will excuse me. I must catch up with my son." Danuki nearly sighed audibly in his relief. If the attendant had not come at that time he would have been at the end of an inquisition he would not be able to hold up against. Moreover, Kagome wouldn't be the least of his worries if everything was exposed. _They_ would kill him and revive him only to kill him again if she ever found out. She didn't even get a chance to ask her question and he had already begun to sweat profusely. His hands had begun to tremble and he could feel himself beginning to lose his transformation. He was getting too old for this kind of drama. He had to leave now, and avoid her for the rest of the train ride. With that thought in mind, he gave both ladies a tip of his hat before he sped down the aisle chasing after his son.

"Oh, but. Please wait! Sir!" Kagome called after the man, but for someone using a cane he was rather nimble and speedy and had already disappeared into the next train car. Where he once stood, rested a single chestnut leaf. Kagome gingerly picked up the single leaf, it looked like the leaves that Hachi and Shippo used for their transformations and tricks. She tucked the leaf in between the last few pages of a small notebook and pocketed it away.

The attendant started to fidget as she waited for Kagome to move to find her room,

"Ummm, miss do you by any chance need help finding your compartment?"

Kagome chuckled awkwardly, realizing that she was still standing in the same spot and had yet to move to find her compartment as the attendant had requested when she had first interrupted them.

"Oh if you would please, that would make it go so much faster." Kagome handed her ticket to the attendant. The woman scanned it briefly before glancing up at Kagome, her tone became brighter as she tried to hold back laughter at the young girl's blunder,

"Well Higurashi-san, your room is in fact the one you are standing in front of right now. I'm surprised you did not notice."

"I... I was distracted, I hadn't checked to see if this was my room. Thank you very much."

Kagome entered her compartment and set her bag down. Her mind spun with reasons why the old man would know her name. The only thing she could think of was that her grandfather sent him to follow her to make sure she was alright and report back to him her condition. Honestly, couldn't he trust her more? She had survived feudal Japan and the treachery of the Jewel and Naraku. she should be able to handle traveling on her own in Japan. She took out her cellphone, the one condition that was set to allow her to go out on her own in the modern era, and called the shrine.

"Hello? If you're looking for Kagome, then I'm sorry but she's come down with a very bad case of influenza. If you want to reach her just leave me a message and I'll make sure she gets it."

It seemed that her grandfather was up to his usual antics again,

"Jii-chan! It's me! Kagome! And why are you still giving out those absurd illness excuses. Well the illness wasn't so absurd this time, but that's not the point! I'm not traveling back to the feudal era anymore. You don't have to make up these excuses anymore."

"But then what would I tell them? That I let my only granddaughter fresh out of high school who has suffered from various illnesses run around all of Japan by herself?"

"Well... That is the truth, except the illnesses part, and it's not like it has to be kept secret. I'm traveling, there's nothing to hide about that."

Her grandfather hesitated,

"Yes... Well..."

Kagome took advantage of her grandfather's unusual speechlessness and went straight to the point,

"Anyway, Jii-chan... you didn't by any chance send one of your friends to follow me did you?"

She heard a gasp of indignation on the other side of the line,

"No of course not dear! I would never send one of those old men to follow you, they could be closet perverts for all I know! You never know what to expect from all those eccentric old men. There's no way they're getting near my granddaughter without me around to keep an eye on them! Honestly Kagome, these days it seems that all you do is accuse me of doing the strangest things."

"You didn't? Then-"

"Kagome, do you need me to come over there and exorcise the youkai that's following you?"

"Jii-chan, there's no youk-"

"We can't have them trying to steal away my granddaughter, now can we? Just give me a couple minutes and I'll be there."

"Jii-chan! There is no youkai following me, I just wanted to make sure you didn't have someone follow me because you didn't trust me."

"Well I would never! Not trusting my own granddaughter. How could you accuse me o-"

"I'm sorry Jii-chan but the connection is getting bad, I can't hear you anymore. We'll talk later okay? Bye~"

Kagome sighed, she wouldn't be able to survive a rambling rant from her grandfather right now. Oh she loved the crazy old man, but there were more important matters to deal with right now. How did that old man know her name, and why attach the suffix 'sama' to it? Her thoughts were interrupted by the compartment door sliding open,

"Excuse me~ You're the one I'll be rooming with?! Ugh, I was hoping for some handsome man, not some measly high school girl."

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I hope you like this chapter! Please let me know what your thoughts are =D


	5. The Best of Friends

So here we are xD If the writing quality seems lower than previous chapters I'm sorry orz I'm trying to squeeze time for writing but I'm quite busy right now so the quality might be taking a toll. When I have time I may come back to edit this to make it sound better.

Many thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed the story! It all really helps in motivating me to write faster!

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Nurarihyon no Mago belong to their respective owners. Namely, not me. Although I do own Katsumi =D

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Chapter 5: The Best of Friends

Before Kagome stood a woman, wearing a black kimono adorned with a repeating pattern of white three-bladed pinwheels. Her aubergine gray hair, impossibly thick, was pulled back into an elaborate loose bun, a few tendrils falling to frame a face set into a pout. She gaped at the woman's audacity,  
"E-excuse me?! I'm sorry I'm not some dashing prince charming, but I'll have you know that I've graduated high school!"

The woman scoffed,  
"Like that's supposed to make rooming with you for the remainder of this train ride any better. Look you don't bother me for the rest of this trip and I won't bother you, alright?" she walked into the room and sat back on the the available single bed.

Kagome could feel her ire rising, the woman had no right getting snippy with her for not being male. Twin blue flames burned in her eyes before she turned her head and started looking at the chestnut leaf from before, childishly retorting,  
"Fine! It's not like I wanted to talk to you anyway."

The silence dragged on for few hours before Kagome started to fidget,  
"Hey... You know... I never got your name... My name's Kagome! And what's your's?"

The woman glared from over top the book she was reading,  
"Girl, I thought I told you not to talk to me."

Kagome continued to fidget feeling like a child being scolded,  
"Well I thought that we could get to know each other and maybe be a little nicer. With all this animosity in the air it feels like one of us will try to kill the other in their sleep."

A dark chuckle filled the room,  
"Well then don't be surprised to meet whatever god you believe in tomorrow morning..." Hardened mauve eyes looked up to meet brilliant blues, Kagome gave her a small knowing smile,

"Mmmm I don't know about that... I'm quite resilient just to let you know. How about we tell each other a little bit about ourselves? I have a younger brother, his name's Souta. He really likes to play soccer and he has a girlfriend named Hitomi that Inuyasha and I helped to set up. And then there's the fat family cat, Buyo, he's really lazy and he doesn't really like people other than my family, which makes it hard when people visit the shrine. Sometimes he'll hiss at them from his perch at the roots of the Goshinboku-

"Katsumi"

"What?"

"If it will get you to shut up, my name is Katsumi." Perhaps if she humored this Kagome girl she would shut up eventually when she realized Katsumi did not want to be an active participant of the conversation.

"It's very nice to meet you Katsumi-chan! Oh where was I... And then there are my friends who I traveled with before; Inuyasha, Sango-chan, Miroku-sama, Shippo-chan, Kirara...Hachi occasionally, Myouga-jiichan when he wasn't scared..."

Katsumi closed the book she was reading at the mention f the names. Inuyasha? Inu no Taisho's bastard hanyou son? Shippo, the great kitsune general of the Taisho clan. And then Hachi? She couldn't mean Hachiemon, could she? But that was the only way it all made sense. All the names, it was too much of a coincidence, did this girl know these youkai personally or was she just well read in youkai folklore? But then those names... they were the Shikon shard hunter group that later became a part of the Taisho Clan. There was no way a civilian human personally knew such prominent figures in the youkai world. The girl must be lost in her own mind, having read about the Legend of the Shikon Jewel and hit her head too hard and started to believe she had lived amongst the legends 500 years ago. But where had she obtained the information? That particular legend was not supposed to be available to the non-youkai and non-holy population.

"...And then there was this one time where...ohhhhh... I think it's time that I go to sleep. I guess I'll have to continue this story later Katsumi-chan... Good night..."Kagome yawned before she tucked herself under the thin blanket on the bed and promptly fell asleep.

Katsumi waited for the evening out of the girl's breathing before she stood up from the bed and silently moved towards Kagome. She pulled the hair tie out of her hair, letting the barbed strands free to float around her, slowly circling from her back towards the unsuspecting sleeping girl.

"I'd say you were cute with all your childish innocence, but that wouldn't save you from your fate. You know too much for a civilian human. It's too dangerous for you to be wandering around with such knowledge."

Then the tendrils shot towards the Kagome with the intention of ripping her to shreds.

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Thank you for reading hope you enjoyed this update! Any feedback is welcome!


	6. Fool's Pride

A long chapter for you all, because you guys are so great. It's dialog heavy, which is my weakness, I'm better at prose style writing (a habit I picked up from rping) with insight to the inner working of the character's mind rather than dialog. So, if you find anything weird or awkward let me know and I'll do my best to fix it! The next chapter for this and Lucid Dreams may be delayed because I have midterms coming up and I'm working on a threeshot that will hopefully be up soon.

Many thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed the story! It all really helps in motivating me to write faster!

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Nurarihyon no Mago belong to their respective owners. The arrow idea is taken from xxxHolic, which is also not mine. Namely, not me. Although I do own Katsumi =D

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Chapter 6: Fool's Pride

_Then the tendrils shot towards the Kagome with the intention of ripping her to shreds._

Only to be stopped a few centimeters short of the girl's torso by a bright pinkish purple light that expanded and pushed her back, she almost crashed into the wall before she managed to brace herself.

"Miko!" She hissed out, watching the arrow fletching, strung around the girl's neck, float. How had she not noticed before? It should have been obvious she was a miko, she should have felt it. This much power didn't go undetected, but it wasn't up to her to deal with threats of this magnitude.

Slowly, she righted herself, tying her hair back and pulled the folds of her kimono back into place. Katsumi avoided the pink bubble surrounding the sleeping girl as she exited the compartment, sighing with relief as she escaped the pressure of Kagome's energy. With quick and light steps she made her way down to the compartment where she would find _him_. She violently slid the door open,

"You, brat. I need to have a talk with you." The sight of him made her blood boil, she could feel the remnants of her fear rise; oh how she wanted the kill the damned tanuki. He was lounging on the bed, his only arm resting atop his propped up knee, gazing out the window. His golden gaze turned from the night scenery to look at her, his only acknowledgment of her presence.

"Speak then, Harionna." Katsumi's eyes narrowed, she glanced in the direction of the old man she knew to be Inugami Gyoubu Danuki before looking back at Tamazuki and jerked her head in the direction of the hallway,

"Alone." Time seemed to drag on forever, before he got up and walked past her out of the compartment, he paused for a moment beside her to whisper,

"If this is a trap for revenge, even with the loss of my right arm I could still kill you easily." His fear rose, surrounding her and suffocating her own.  
Katsumi shivered lightly, it had been a long time since she had been on the receiving end of this family's brand of fear, she could feel it pulling at her, warning her that she should be afraid. She tried to hide her discomfort, but she knew that he could tell the effect it had on her.

"As much as I would love to tear you to shreds and watch the walls be painted crimson with your blood, there is something of greater importance I need to discuss with you." She sneered as she spun on her heel and walked down the hall to a vacant dining car,

"I may not like you, you slaughtered and used my sister." She stood before him, her hands propped on either hip, "But Shikoku is my home, and you the closest thing we have to a leader. I'm tempted to not tell you, so as to watch you get your ass purified, but there is a miko going to Shikoku. She seems to be oblivious to the massive power she has but acts as if she's best friends with the Taisho Clan. The thing is, she had no power, no spiritual presence until I tried to attack her. I had my doubts in the beginning about her having connection to the youkai world, but after that display of power, I wouldn't be surprised if she was sent by the Taisho or Nura clans. After all they've been dallying with humans, onmyouji, taijiya, and miko for centuries. Who's to doubt that they have such a strong miko in their ranks as well. You better deal with this pest before she starts causing trouble otherwise I'll have your head. Forget about your father's truce and alliance with the Taisho and Nura clans, a miko of this caliber can't be left alone to wander our lands. We don't need anymore of our youkai dying due to your incompetence."

"Your sister followed me of her own volition. It was her choice, do not blame me for what befell her for blindly trusting others." Tamazuki sat down at a dining booth, toying with one of his father's chestnut leaves, "By miko, you must mean that little waif in the high school uniform. She does not seem like she can do very much, the power is coming from the arrow, not her. Someone probably gifted it to her for her protection, not knowing how potent it really is. The girl herself emits no significant amount of spiritual energy, but for some reason my father is very hung up on her..."

Katsumi slammed her hands on the table,

"Don't you dare talk about my sister like that! My sister followed you because she obviously admired and respected some aspect of you. I honestly can't see what she thought was so great about you. All you have is blind ambition. BLIND ambition. Don't write this miko off because she looks so fragile and human, don't repeat the same mistake you made with the Nura's sandaime. Your father may have always been a fool, but he was a fool we could all trust with our lives. It was only his pride, his hyakki's, our pride, that resulted in our downfall to the humans. What fools we all were... And him the leader of us fools. That bumbling old man, he can't be looking for another wife, let alone a human one who might be a miko. Or does he actually know her? She could be a descendant of those two humans he was so fond of in his early days."

He scoffed, but knew that all her suggestions were perfectly viable, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of having him agree though,

"I wouldn't know, sometimes that idiot father of mine can be unpredictable. But he is adamant about her protection, no harm is to befall her, nor is she to find out about youkai. He seemed very rattled, muttering about how his life would be forfeit if anything happened to her. He even began to lose control of his illusion. We all knew he had become soft in his years, but he's been reduced to the behavior of a coward because of this mere slip of a girl. For now, let everyone know to leave her alone, but the moment she starts causing trouble... "

The chestnut leaf he was playing with withered between his fingers,

"Is the moment her head rolls."

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Thank you for reading hope you enjoyed this update! Any feedback is welcome!


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